A deeper look at the night in Auburn basketball.
- The Tigers were 21-of-42 (50%) from long range, which certainly a recipe for success. Every team is going to have good night, this was a very good one for Auburn. It wasn't necessarily a fluke, though. Off-the-ball players worked hard to get open while point guard Jared Harper (seven assists) and facilitator T.J. Dunans (five assists) were keen to find those guys open. This wasn't just lazy shooting. There was work being put in.\
- Danjel Purifoy was the MVP. He scored 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Also added seven rebounds and a team-high three steals. A terrific night for a terrific player.
- Anfernee McLemore (pictured above) was the MIP. Most Important Player. He basically came out of nowhere to add nine points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks. His work rate was exceptionally high on the defensive end. I thought Auburn would take a step back without Horace Spencer, as flawed as he is, but McLemore easily replaced that production without adding silly fouls and panicky moves on the scoring end. This kid is ready to help.
- So with McLemore playing so well plus T.J. Dunans and Ronnie Johnson playing intelligent basketball as combo guards, Auburn didn't feel underpowered at all without suspended Spencer and Bryce Brown. As I've been saying for a while now: If Dunans gets his act together and plays the role Auburn needs him to play, this team is going to be really good. Dunans was terrific tonight.
- There was a substantive change made on the defensive end. Auburn elected to play head-up defense against Boston College -- with little attention paid to covering gaps between players along the perimeter. That keeps defenders in prime position to guard against threes, but leaves them vulnerable to the dribble drive. You know what happened in New York City. Auburn narrowed into those gaps against Coastal on Thursday night, effectively getting a head start against dribble drives. That worked; CCU struggled to get to the rim and was just 8-for-36 from beyond the arc. CCU came into the game as an average three-point team, so this was a calculated gamble that paid off handsomely.
- Center Austin Wiley was in the arena, but didn't play. His eligibility situation still is being worked out. I expect him to suit up for Auburn's game against Mercer this weekend, though that's merely an opinion at this point.
